Upgrade Needed for Triple Monitor Display

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FATAL STR1K3

FATAL STR1K3

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May 21, 2008
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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Between June and August.(Preferably June, but I can wait for price cuts/new releases)

BUDGET RANGE: I would like to spend around $250.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming- Diable3, Guild Wars 2, Skyrim, BF3, etc.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: I currently have 1gb HIS 5770 and a Corsair GS600 psu

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: I have an i5-2500k clocked at 4.2... NZXT M59: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146058 and 8gb ddr3

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, TigerDirect, Microcenter(I have one near me)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: No preference, just needs to support 3 monitors

OVERCLOCKING: Unlikely

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Possibly in the future, I would like that option to be available

MONITOR RESOLUTION: current resolution of the monitor I have is 1680 x 1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I currently have 1 22" Dell monitor, and I am getting 2 more 22" monitors(not sure which yet).
 
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An AMD 6950 would be good. you could even research a bit and find one that has the possibly of 6970 BIOS update. That would probably be best suited to your 3-monitor goal at your price point.

But, to be honest, I don't think you are going to get happy play time with those games and triple monitors without splurging a bit more green on the graphics scene.

A 6970 is probably your minimum point to start.
 
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Triple monitor gaming will require a larger budget.
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I think I expected this but just didn't want to accept it.

I am thinking about sticking to 1 card at this point just so that in the future I can add another as an upgrade and not have to replace two cards. With a quick search in newegg the cheapest 7950 is about $380. How long will it be until the price is closer to $300? Is it worth waiting? Though I understand you have to spend money to get performance, I pains me to spend that much on a card.

Thanks for the input!
 
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http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

As you can see by the chart the card that you have is a fairly decent one so to do an upgrade that would be worth while you have to go up at least two levels.

Are you looking to stay with AMD?

EVGA 012-P3-2066-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 448 Cores FTW 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$289.99 and a $30 rebate makes the final price $259.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130738

This would be the best Nvidia card that you could get for your budget price ATM.

DIAMOND 7850PE52G Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$269.99 and a $10 rebate makes the final price $259.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103207

SAPPHIRE 11188-22-20G Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (OC Edition)
$249.99 and free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987

These are two of the AMD cards that are in you budget amount's range. Of course since you have a MicroCenter near by you can always go and see what's on sale and maybe bump up the model to the next level. If you saw a 6970 or 7950 that was on sale for a good price you could grab one of those. On the Nvidia side if you saw a GTX 570 on sale for a good price you could think about one of those.
The only issue with the Nvidia cards is that in order to do three monitor surround gaming you need two cards in SLI , unless you have a GTX 680 which tkaes only the one card to do three monitor surround.
 
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As far as the 7950 dropping to $300 you may have to wait awhile because that's quite a drop in price. You may get lucky with that MicroCenter near you and they might have some good sales. A lot that Nvidia does with thier next releases and the price points for each card will affect the prices of the AMD cards as you saw what happened when the 680 was released for $500 , It didn't take AMD long to drop the prices for the 7970 and 7950 cards.
At this point because of the impending releases of the next models from Nvidia you may want to wait a bit to see how it affects AMDs prices.
 
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Thanks for the input. That 7850 is looking pretty good right now. I think at this point I will just lurk at the MicroCenter and hope that I can snag a 7950 on sale or something.
 
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He wanted triple monitors to game on.


@OP
If you stay with a single monitor, how much can you afford?
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Well, the reason I am getting a triple monitor setup is also for programming and stocks(should have put that in the OP, sorry). Hence, I wouldn't really be interested in spending more and keeping a solo monitor.
 
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I would like to do both! I mean, who the hell doesn't want to game on three monitors?! What I mean is that I am also getting the three monitors for other reasons, so single monitor with a more expensive card(in place of the monitors) is somewhat out of the question. Sorry for any confusion!
 
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Come to think of it, the 7870 looks to be the perfect card if it goes on sale. Based on the hierarchy chart posted above it looks to be on the same level as the 7950, for less money. Thanks!
 
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Whatever card you end up wanting to buy you should check it online prices Preferably amazon since you can get some used video cards or new for a lot cheaper most of the time also no taxes when purchased through amazon. I usually drive to frys and microcenter or tigerdirect by me see how much they are and if i like design in person then purchase off amazon. Some times they will be the same price but with taxes added by me its usually an extra 60 to 80 dollars since i live in chicago area. Good luck and have fun with your new set up.
 
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Everyone keeps saying you need the latest and greatest card for triple monitors, this is only true if you want to max all the settings in the game. If you can live with running games on Medium - High quality for awhile than a 7850 will be more than enough card. Prior to last week I was running 3 monitors on a 5850 for more than 2 years (and before that was running 3 monitors on 2 4850's using SoftH before EyeFinity was official).

For now I would say start with a 7850 then later on you can add another one for Crossfire and be able to boost your game settings back up to high. If you can find room in your budget to splurge a little than go with a 7950. I got one about 2 weeks ago, great card. Doubled my 3dmark score compared to my 5850 and has allowed me to run some games maxed out on all 3 screens.
 
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While you're definately correct in pointing this out, I've always felt that the point of gaming on triple monitors is to max out the settings (at least resolution and 4XAA). otherwise, it doesn't really beat gaming on ultra quality on one high-res monitor now does it?
 
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Right now I am contemplating getting a used 7950 and then getting another one later on as an upgrade. Ideally max'd setting would be nice. I suppose spending that extra paycheck will be worth it in the long run.
 
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A used 7950 sounds great 😉
What model?
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At this point, I am not sure. I actually found a 7970 on craigslist for $275. I would have to look further to make sure everything is alright with it. Are there any makers that are better than others? I have a HIS card now, but I am not partial to anything.
 
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As of now, XFX gives the best warranty (lifetime), Sapphire gives the most complete bundle of adapters (good value), MSI makes the best custom cooler
 
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Keep in mind that the 7970 and 7950 are the two top models from AMD and while it might be great to find used ones anailable you should be asking the question why. Why are these top cards available in used condition? They just came out and now someone is selling it?The initial pricing from AMD was rather high and after the 680 was released for $500 these cards had thier price cut tretty good so someone selling a used one is taking quite a loss why?
This is not to ruin your good fortune in finding a used one but more of a precaution to look at all the angles.
 
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Yes it does still beat it hands down. The point of triple monitoring gaming is that it increases your field of view. Compared to one screen being maxed out with ultra quality, 3 screens maxed out doesnt increase the quality any, it just gives you a larger field of view. I wouldnt recommend lowering resolution when in EyeFinity, but sacrificing AA down from 8x to 4x, or dropping from Ultra to High is a fair trade off for the increased FOV most times.

If you arent wanting to drop settings, there isnt a card in your budget range that is going to max out current games at EyeFinity resolution. Even the top cards out still strugggle with some games if you try to max out at EyeFinity Resolutions. To max EyeFinity you have to crossfire. As a bare minimum if you dont want to drop settings the only 3 cards to consider are going to be the 7970, 7950, or the 680. Even these wont let you max every game.
 
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a lot of people are dropping them for the 680... personally, I'm considering dropping my sapphire dual-x 7970 if I can get a 690 because I like Nvidia 3D vision...
 
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I agree with inzone. Yes people may be dropping them in hopes for a 680, but it is intriguing that the card is selling 275 straight up when a card on ebay can get 300+ easily for a 7970. Unless the person is straight desperate and admits it one way or another there should be precaution if they are willing to cut a $200 or so loss.

On topic. Single card 7950 multi monitor minimum as others suggested. Cheers.
 
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As Always, I go into craigslist expecting shady deals. Thanks for the advice.
 
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